I grew up on a farmstead roughly bordered half by coulees and half by flat fields. Coulees (pronounced koo'-lee, the o's sounding like 'ue' in blue) are deep ravines often with creeks running through the bottom. These streams can dry up during the summer. Native trees and shrubs grow on the hillsides or the bottom. These are perfect hunting grounds. My brothers, along with our cousins and their friends, have hunted these hills for deer every fall. They know a story for every bend and clump of trees!
When you drive over the gently rolling hills of the prairie, it's hard to imagine how suddenly the flatlands dive into steep valleys. This coulee is on the edge of our farm. It starts dipping down in the distance.
Turning to the east from the same spot are these fields.
My brother and his son, our son and daughter, target practicing before deer hunting season. (Although Jana is shooting with a camera, she also hunts! She got a moose in the Alaskan Bush while a teacher up there.)
My husband Dave rolling down the "moving target" for them. (This picture shows the edge of the farm buildings I grew up on.)
